SADI Members

Angela Ballesteros, Medicine
Diversity, to me, means acceptance and responsibility. Each of us come from different cultures, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, sexual orientations, etc. We must be willing to accept not only people from a different background but hold ourselves responsible for broadening our knowledge and respect of where we all came from and went through. 

Kiana Banafshay, MD-MBA
Diversity recognizes and celebrates individual differences in culture, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and general interests. It offers opportunities to learn from one another and find connections across our differences.

Cole Birmingham, Medicine
To me, diversity means actively creating a space of safety, inclusion, and comfort for people to share their unique lived experiences. Diversity means collaborating and having radical compassion for these experiences in ways which improve our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world around us. 

Tiffany Braman, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
For me, diversity is recognizing, embracing, and celebrating the many parts of us as individuals. Our diversity in unique experiences, views, cultural heritages, and identities as whole creates a world full of vibrant, beautiful differences. 

Austin Broadhead, Medicine
The world is infinitely more complex and beautiful through the lens of our combined unique perspectives. Diversity allows us to share that lens and learn together.

Kathryn Carroll, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
Diversity is the acknowledgment and understanding that every person is unique. Recognizing and accepting differences in all aspects such as race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. make living meaningful.

Angela Chen, Medicine
Diversity to me means appreciation and openness to people and their experiences from all walks of life, and it brings opportunities to share, learn, and grow from others.

Stanley Eboh, Medicine
Diversity means empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin. Diversity allows for the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment

Holly Grossman, Medicine
Diversity is the sharing of unique experiences in an environment where these differences are not only appreciated but actively incorporated into how we better ourselves as individuals and as a whole.

Cindy Hu, Medicine
To me, diversity means recognizing that people come from different backgrounds and celebrating how our different perspectives can contribute to a more enriching learning environment.

Crystal Ike, Medicine
As a future healthcare provider, diversity to me means ensuring that providers from all backgrounds are adequately represented in the medical field in order to reflect the diverse patient populations that they serve. In short, diversity and health equity go hand-in-hand. I believe that health equity can only be achieved by a diverse community because while diversity is important, diversity without inclusion is ineffective. 

Brendalyn Iweh, Medicine
Diversity to me is the state of mind that encourages us to expand our world view and learn from people from all different walks of life.  Diversity exists when there is an effort to go above and beyond just being aware or accepting differences. Diversity is actively including people who are different from you and learning from our differences to make the whole community a better place.

Unique Jacobo, GSBS - Biotechnology
To me, diversity means embracing other experiences that are different than my own.

Ardalan Naghian, MD-MPH
Embracing diversity promotes growth at both the individual and community levels. Unique experience help empower groups of diverse backgrounds among accepting spaces. I am looking forward to promoting an environment of diversity and inclusion for the entire student body.

Devi Nair, Medicine
Diversity and inclusion are accomplished by recognizing and celebrating our differences, and creating a welcoming space for every individual to be their most authentic self. 

Denise Naude, Family Medicine Accelerated Track
Diversity refers to the traits and characteristics that make people unique. Everyone has unique backgrounds that bring exquisite value to our community. I am exceptionally passionate about building community out of diversity in every aspect of my life and overcome differences with compassion. Also, as a person that has a disability, I am deeply devoted to advocating for having people think about disability as diverse population. This is critical because it’s not often thought of in those terms, but it is imperative when thinking about inclusion. Inclusion refers to the behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome.

Onyinye Nwaeke, PharmD
I believe that, like fingerprints, we are all unique. I also believe real progress occurs when we all feel accepted, safe, and are allowed to express who we are, in spite of our intersectionality.

Amanda Otto, GSBS - Public Health
Diversity is acknowledgement and celebration of our differences as well as representation. Diversity includes culture, ethnicity, race, religion, age, gender, and sexual orientation. But it also includes things like socioeconomic status (current and history) and type of student (on campus vs. online, etc.).

Iqra Pervaiz, PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences
Diversity is a process and not a product. It is a way of looking at a changing world. 

Diego Regalado, Medicine
Diversity is the greatest strength that we could have as a school and it is because of it that we are able to understand other points of view, we can understand our patients, and can provide better care for one another. I like diversity because it allows me to learn about other cultures, foods, beliefs, perspectives, and can help me grow overall as a person.

Dzmitry Savitski, Medicine
To me, diversity means the harmonious coexistence of different cultures, beliefs, and perspectives. Diversity allows everyone to learn from each other and to grow together.